WRC: Sebastien Ogier looking forward to Portugal rally after bout of flu
Sebastien Ogier is fully recovered from illness and ready to compete in the next round of the WRC in Portugal.
Last Updated: 09/04/13 11:29am
The Frenchman had to sit out the warm-up Fafe Rally Sprint last weekend on the advice of his doctors, leaving Andreas Mikkelsen to fly the flag for Volkswagen.
Ogier has been in top form all season, winning in Sweden and Mexico to take a 29-point lead over champion Sebastien Loeb, who is not running a full season, with next rival Mikko Hirvonen 44 points back.
"I'm feeling much better now, after illness left me feeling below par last week," Ogier said.
"Withdrawing from the Fafe Rally Sprint was a very tough decision, especially given all the enthusiastic fans. However, it was the right decision in order to allow me to recover fully.
"I really like the rally. It is one of my favourite rallies. In 2010 it was the scene of my first victory in the World Rally Championship, and I won again there in 2011. That makes it the only WRC rally that I have won twice in my career - so far.
"We saw at the Rally Mexico that the Polo R WRC is also competitive on gravel, and that is important.
"The coming rally in Portugal is another good indication of where we stand, and will be particularly interesting because those will be the kind of conditions we will come up against most often in the World Rally Championship: hard gravel and stages not much above sea level."
